CRITICAL SECTIONS AND PRODUCER/CONSUMER QUEUES IN WEAK MEMORY SYSTEMS
Date
1997-06-01
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Abstract
In machines with a weak memory consistency model, the ordering constraints on
memory accesses are few. In order to properly program these machines, certain
powerful or explicit synchronization instructions are additionally provided
in their architecture. We show that although a solution to the critical
section problem (also referred to as the mutual exclusion problem) is
impossible without such powerful synchronization, certain versions of the
producer/consumer problem can be solved even in the weakest systems without
the need for any such powerful instructions. These instructions are
expensive, and avoiding their use is desirable for better performance.
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Computer Science